Gardening

Yellow flowers on green and purple leaves

Beyond hostas in your shade garden

Gardening in the shade can be challenging. Few plants grow their best in low light conditions, and the plants that do often lack gorgeous blooms. If a lawn of large-leaved hostas is letting you down, experiment with uniquely textured foliage and distinct blossoms offered by shade-loving plants. You...
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Pot of flowers on a windowsill

Plant a rainbow of color on your porch or patio

With limitless colors and textures, no porch or patio should sit bare this season. Plant a container. The home with a front porch container display always feels a bit more welcoming; the back patio with a well-designed pot always feels a bit more relaxing. Designing these eye-catching...
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Colored gloves on a fence and children's hands in mud

Designing a garden for kids? Give it a theme!

Many of today’s youth lack a connection with nature or an interest in gardening or growing their own food. One of the best ways to encourage an excitement for gardening is by creating a themed garden. A child’s hands-on, experiential learning style can be encouraged in a themed garden, especially...
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White onions with green tops growing in a raised bed.

Decrease your grocery list by planting onions

Do you grow peppers and tomatoes every year? Are you ready to try something different (or maybe in addition to!) the same-old, same-old? Then you should try growing onions this gardening season. With just 30 square feet of planting area, you could grow the bulk of the onions you cook with this year...
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Two photos side-by-side: Left, little bluestem in fall; right, purple and yellow violas

Garden worthy 'Plants of the Year'

With over 400,000 species of plants in the world, one might wonder which ones are the best to grow in your garden or landscape. Many plant associations select a “Plant of the Year” using rigorous criteria to highlight plants they feel are deserving of the title. Consider these plants when planning...
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A young girl sits in grass with a pile of harvested vegetables

Garden with your kids this summer

Cultivating a love and knowledge of gardening in youth can be a rewarding experience for all. A garden offers a place to learn, play, and grow through hands-on experience in the freedom of their own backyard. Kids LOVE to dig in the soil and get their hands & feet (or even head to toes!) dirty...
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A single ripening asian pear hangs among green leaves.

Add Agroforestry Plants to Your Garden

I don’t know about others, but I myself am fighting a case of the winter blues. My happy place is in the garden, looking at my growing plants—not snow! As you daydream about your spring and summer garden, consider planting some unorthodox plants that are fueling a growing...
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